Posts Tagged ‘Sean Cwynar’

I can’t say I’ll be at my computer all day long (it is Ash Wednesday, after all), but at least through these early morning hours I’ll be posting NSD-related news as it breaks. Stay tuned …

10:20am PST: … and so the liveblog endeth. Congrats to Weis & Co. on an amazing class, and to all the recruits for signing up with an amazing program. Let’s get this train back on the rails!

Check back in this afternoon for Milton Knox’s decision - last I heard, he wants to go to ND but his dad won’t let him …

9:17am PST: In an interview on Rivals Radio this morning, Dayne Crist apparently said that he’s going to enroll at ND in mid-June. I guess that means he’ll be around for summer practice, which is GREAT … [EDIT: Err, not quite. See Grant's helpful comment.]

During his presser CW just mentioned that there are still a few guys out there that are uncommitted so there might be a few surprises, but that he wasn’t counting on it and he wanted to focus his presser on the 23 that have already signed.

Sheesh. A FEW?! Hold on to your hats, folks …

8:54am PST: Word is there is still some uncertainty about what the heck Omar Hunter is going to do with himself. I hope Urbie is having as miserable a time as we all were a month or so ago. Stay tuned …

8:39am PST: Via the Scout liveblog once again, this is the kind of thing that just has to make you smile:

11:28 am EST: Joe Adams just pulled a stunner, spurning USC, where he was a longtime commit, to sign with homestate Arkansas. — Brandon Huffman

There has been a simply unbelievable number of recruits today who’ve sent their LOIs to schools other than the ones they committed to. The fact that ND has managed to avoid this really speaks to the character of their recruits, and to the terrific job the coaches have done of making them feel a part of the team from Day One.

7:53am PST: Steve Filer is in as well. So that’s all for now in the LOI department, pending Milton Knox’s announcement this evening. My kid is up, though, so I’m off to make some breakfast. Get back to work, folks - I’ll be back soon.

7:52am PST: NDNation is reporting that Dayne Crist has faxed in his letter.

7:47am PST:This is worth passing along, for anyone who hasn’t seen it or didn’t notice this particular story. It’s Charlie Weis talking about what recruiting was like this year:

“The biggest highlight for me, personally, is the great player from a distant place that decided to go to another school. Obviously, I can’t say his name. As much as it hurt, I called him and wished him the very best. It turns out the Mom was in our corner, and the next night he called back and asked, ‘You still got that scholarship?’ When I said ‘Yes I do,’ he responded, ‘Well, I came to my senses. I am coming to Notre Dame.’ That was a great feeling that we had handled things the right way.”

It certainly seems like he’s referring to Kapron Lewis-Moore, though at the time he couldn’t mention him by name. Great story …

7:45am PST: Hello out there. Not yet eight in the morning, and already over 1,100 pageloads today. Sheesh.

7:39am PST: From Scout’s Bob Lichtenfels, commenting on the commitment of Kapron Lewis-Moore:

10:27 am EST: Apparently there was a lot of truth to DT Omar Hunter (Buford, Ga.) wavering on his Florida commitment. Hunter heard some rumors late yesterday that DL Coach Greg Mattison might be leaving for the Ravens and wavered. Whether Mattison leaves or not is not known at this time (or it could be a bad rumor that got to Hunter) but it did cause a moment of pause for Omar. Hunter just signed with the Gators. — Jamie Newberg

7:33am PST: LOIs are in from Anthony McDonald and Joseph Fauria. Crist and Filer are the only ones left, by my accounting.

9:53 am EST: I am hearing some rumblings that five-star D-tackle Omar Hunter (Buford, Ga.) may not sign with Florida. Could it be Georgia? Don’t know just yet and I’m trying to track this one down. This could be devastating to the Gators. — Jamie Newberg

One can only dream.

6:50am PST: Expect letters from Steve Filer and Hafis Williams in the next ten minutes or so … that will take care of the non-PSTers.

6:47am PST: In more karma-related news, Florida has lost yet another verbal commitment, as Ramon Buchanon has sent an LOI into Miami (where he had “committed” before he “committed” to Florida). Methinks this is what happens when you keep telling kids who are committed to other programs that verbal commitments aren’t binding … word gets around, you know?

6:38am PST: According to Scout, the idea of being Omar Hunter’s back-up plan was part of what turned Mike Martin off to ND. Never mind that Michigan recruited Hunter as well, of course, and may not have given Martin as much attention if Hunter had committed (or “committed”, as the case may be) to them. Goes to show you the consequences of insincere - or at least less-than-solid - verbal commitments, though … this wouldn’t have been a problem if Omar had just told ND he wasn’t sure in the first place.

6:33am PST: Lewis-Moore’s letter is in, per Rivals.

6:32am PST: In other news, Josh Jenkins snubbed Florida State and Ohio State to stay local and play for West Virginia, and Florida commit Ricky Barnum jumped ship to go play for Michigan. Poetic justice, much? Suck it, Urbie.

6:12am PST: We’re still waiting on: Hafis Williams, Jonas Gray, Ethan Johnson, Dayne Crist, Anthony McDonald, Darius Fleming, Steve Filer, and Joseph Fauria. With the exception of Williams, all those guys are in the Central or Pacific time zones, though …

6:09am PST: I’ll well aware that I’m one of those “dorks”, thank you very much.

6:06am PST: Per GoshenGipper, Kapron Lewis-Moore apparently kept himself entertained over the weekend by reading message boards and watching everyone try to figure out who the “secret commit” was. LOL … what a bunch of dorks.

6:01am PST: … and Braxston Cave makes fourteen.

5:57am PST: Lane Clelland, too …

5:55am PST:Kyle Rudolph, David Posluszny, and Dan McCarthy are safely in the fold now … that’s twelve so far, not counting Lewis-Moore.

5:51am PST:Michael Floyd’s letter is in …

5:41am PST: More here on the supposed “mystery” recruit, for all you insatiable rumor-sharks out there.

5:30am PST: Apparently BGI is reporting that Kapron Lewis-Moore will be sending his LOI in shortly. They’re also indicating that he’s the “mystery” recruit whom all the whispers had been about … we’ll see, I guess. If it is him, though, then thanks for ruining Christmas, Tom Lemming!

5:15am PST: Rivals is also reporting that Omar Hunter has faxed his LOI in to the world’s biggest doucheUrban Meyer the world’s biggest douche.

5:14am PST: According to Rivals, the following LOIs have all been sent in:

Robert Blanton

Sean Cwynar

Mike Golic Jr.

Brandon Newman

Trevor Robinson

Jamoris Slaughter

Deion Walker

4:57am PST: Apparently it has been confirmed that Deion Walker will honor his verbal commitment and enroll at ND in 2008. Whew. He will be on Rivals Radio in about a half an hour.

4:54am PST: A quick update of the morning’s big stories:

Apparently Deion Walker is going to be on Rivals Radio in a few minutes “announcing” whether he’s decided to stay at ND or switch his verbal to ND or PSU. Ugh.

Mike Golic Jr. signed his LOI on the Mike and Mike Show about a half-hour ago.

Milton Knox will announce his decision at 7pm EST; I’m not sure when the official word will be in on Kapron Lewis-Moore.

No word yet on the mystery recruit who supposedly offered a super-secret commitment to ND in the last few days … stay tuned.

With the new year in full swing and school starting up again (welcome, Trevor and Sean!), it’s time to start looking back at 2007 and ahead to ‘08. Oh, that and wasting time thinking about ND football when we really should be writing our dissertations. So with that in mind, the Irish Roundup is proud to bring you “The Irish by the Numbers,” a multi-part series where we break down what happened last year and consider what’s to come.

First up, a great break-down that IE poster Jonathan (”Fishin’ Irish,” for the in-crowd) put together of the offensive numbers from the 2007 season. It was supposed to get up over break, but better late than never. I’ll be back later this week with a breakdown of some of 2007’s numbers on defense.

The Irish by the Numbers, Part I: 2007’s Offensive Breakdown

Here’s a breakdown of the team’s offensive stats by class from the 2007. By “seniors” I mean to include both fifth- and fourth-year guys, since none of 2007’s fourth-year seniors on offense will return for a fifth year anyhow.

Things seem to be looking up, huh? I’m sure I made a math error in there (I did a lot of it in my head), but you get the idea. Freshmen led EVERY SINGLE CATEGORY here in terms of production. That’s simply amazing. The more you look into this, the better this gets:

I’m willing to bet that all five of Travis Thomas’s touchdowns occurred when we were in the “goal line” formation. I feel pretty confident when I say that losing him here won’t hurt us, as either James Aldridge or Robert Hughes should be able to pick up improve upon where Thomas left off in that department.

The passing game should only improve next year now that Jimmy Clausen has had time to get his feet wet. A deeper, more talented, and more experienced offensive line should help, and the only starter graduating from the line is center John Sullivan. (However, some may see him leaving as a good thing …)

The only loss worthy of note in the receiving section is John Carlson. He’ll be tough to replace, but Will Yeatman, Mike Ragone, and incoming freshmen Kyle Rudolph and Joseph Fauria look to fill his place. Also, look for to-be-freshmen wideouts Mike Floyd and John Goodman to make an impact on next year’s depth chart, if not on the gridiron itself.

Obviously, there are lots of uncertainties that need to sort themselves out, and these young players have to become a lot more consistent if the Irish are going to return to ‘05-’06 form. But there’s reason for hope, anyway …

[NOTES:

* I'm factoring out sack yardage here, as well as leaving out Demetrius Jones's numbers, since he left the team mid-season.

** Here's where there's some wiggle room in the stats. JC's two rushing TD's are included here, but his attempts and yards were not. I didn't want to include sacks, as I thought it would detract from the main idea, and I wasn't about to dig through game play-by-plays to find his actual attempts/yardage sans the sacks.

*** Once again, Jones's numbers are factored out.

**** Clausen's Passer Rating. Armando Allen's passing stats were not included in the class QB rating.]

Goodman is The News-Sentinel’s PrepSports Football Player of the Year because his numbers are almost unbelievable. As Bishop Dwenger’s quarterback, the senior completed 95 of 175 passes for 1,697 yards and 16 touchdowns, with only two interceptions.

Goodman was also the Saints’ punter and a starting defensive back and the team’s heart and soul, leading them to the Summit Athletic Conference title, a No. 1 ranking all season in Class 4A and a semistate berth.

He rushed for 535 yards on 98 attempts — including sacks — caught seven passes for 199 yards, and returned eight kickoffs for 191 yards and 22 punts for 309 yards. He also averaged 35.3 yards per punt, grabbed two interceptions and made 28 tackles.

He averaged 17.9 yards per completion and 9.5 per attempt. His combined total was 28 touchdowns.

“There’s only one thing he didn’t do,” Bishop Dwenger coach Chris Svarczkopf said. “He was not on our kickoff team, and if we’d have gone another week, he’d have done that, too, because at that point it doesn’t make any difference and there’s no reason to hold him back. He would have done a tremendous job.”

Svarczkopf charted Goodman’s numbers for his three-year career, including the first two as a wide receiver. Besides earning first-team all-SAC honors twice as a receiver and this year as a quarterback, Goodman gained 5,600 yards in 480 touches, good for 11.8 yards per touch.

…

Goodman threw only two interceptions all season, one in the first half of the first game against Concordia Lutheran, and the other in his last throw in the Saints’ last game against Lowell.

In between, he threw 170 straight passes without a pick, a remarkable number for someone who played receiver the previous two seasons. He’ll return to receiver next year when he starts his college career at Notre Dame.

And there’s more to the player than his mind-blowing numbers:

“The best thing is that he’s someone whom everyone on the team admires and respects,” Svarczkopf said. “He elevated the play of everyone on the team. That’s what you want in your player of the year. He brought everybody else’s play to another level.”

Svarczkopf said his favorite memory of Goodman will be how after making a big play, the quarterback would charge off the field, laughing and grinning from ear to ear, because he was having so much fun.

“As a versatile player, you have to be like that,” Goodman said. “You have to be the type of player that executes in all those situations and the type of player who shows other people what to do, shows them how to do it and be the type of player that kids look up to. They fed off me, and as a leader I tried to show them what to do.”

Congratulations, John! Here’s to seeing a good deal of this on the field over the next few years:

Congratulations to 2008 DL commitment Sean Cwynar, of Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, Ill., who just this past weekend was named Illinois “Mr. Football” for the 2007 season:

Sean Cwynar was blown away Saturday night, which is a rare sight, considering he stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 285 pounds.

The Marian Central senior lineman watched some of the IHSA state football championships and enjoyed the Class 8A game from a skybox at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium. Then, at halftime, Cwynar joined Montini’s Garrett Goebel and Chicago Mount Carmel’s Steve Filer as the three nominees for the Mr. Football award.

Cwynar, who started at offensive tackle and defensive end, was named the winner of the award, given for the first time.

“I wasn’t expecting to win it,” Cwynar said. “It was cool. It’s a real big trophy. Those guys were two real good players. Just to be nominated as one of top three players, when you look at all the all-state players around the state, 20 in each class, was an honor. To be Player of the Year is just awesome.”

Cwynar also talked about his decision to graduate early from high school and enroll at Notre Dame a semester early to take part in spring practices:

“I’m excited about [enrolling early],” said Cwynar, who ranks in the top 30 of his senior class. “It was cool to get the opportunity to do that. I knew last summer [I could do it], but I had to take a religion and a Spanish class to get enough credits. I just kept it quiet, I didn’t want [graduating early] to interfere with the season.”

Cwynar was a two-way starter on Marian’s Class 5A state runner-up team in 2006 and again this season, when the Hurricanes reached the 5A semifinals. By enrolling early, Cwynar can join the Fighting Irish for spring practices. First, he will play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 6 in San Antonio.

“[Enrolling early] will give me a lot better chance to have some early playing time,” Cwynar said. “I’ll have a whole extra semester to work on everything.”

Congratulations, Sean! The ND community looks forward to seeing you around campus and on the playing field.

Sorry to be so slow once again in getting this up. Here’s your weekly rundown of how Notre Dame’s currently committed players fared in their high school football games last week:

With quarterback Dan McCarthy sitting on the sidelines after suffering a neck injury the previous week, Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) still managed to end two-time defending state D-III champion Steubenville’s 42-game win streak, as they built a 28-0 halftime lead and held on to win, 35-20. Mooney is now 13-0 on the year heading into this week’s semi-state game.

John Goodman had a tough day but did throw a 23-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter for a 7-0 lead, but Lowell came back with ten points in the last seven minutes to beat his Bishop Dwenger (Ind.) team 10-7, ending the Saints’ playoff run in the state semifinals. Dwenger finishes the season at 13-1.

Michael Floyd had five catches for 110 yards and a touchdown - including four receptions on the opening drive - as his Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) team moved to 13-0 with a 56-14 romp over Brainerd that moved them into the class 5A final for only the sixth time in their history.

Despite being bothered by a leg injury, Jonas Gray had 29 carries for 304 yards and four touchdowns - including fourth-quarter TD runs of 30 and 61 yards - as his Detroit Country Day (Mich.) team defeated top-ranked Zeeland West, 37-30, in a wild game that came down to a 52-yard hook-and-ladder play that went for a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining. Gray and the 11-2 Yellowjackets will face Marine City in the state finals.

Robert Blanton had his fourth blocked kick and his sixth interception of the season, but it wasn’t enough, as his Butler (N.C.) team saw their season come to a disappointing end, falling to Charlotte Independence, 20-7, in the second round of the state playoffs. Butler finishes the season at 10-3.

Steve Filer’s Mount Carmel (Ill.) team also saw its dreams of a state title fade away, as they were upset by Glenbard North, 28-21. The Caravan’s final record is 12-1.

Sean Cwynar had a third-quarter extra point attempt - yes, you read that right - blocked, and his Marian Central (Ill.) team fell to Morris, 10-9, in the state semifinals. The Hurricanes finish the year at 10-3.

Joseph Fauria’s Crespi (Calif.) team defeated Millikan, 26-14, in the first round of the Pac-5 playoffs. Next up for the 9-2 Celts is Mater Dei.

Dayne Crist ended up being unable to play because of a concussion suffered in the previous week’s game against Crespi, and his and Anthony McDonald’s Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (Calif.) team couldn’t overcome his absence, as they fell to Newport Harbor, 7-3, in the first round of the Pac-5 playoffs. The Knights finish the season at 8-3.

John Goodman had touchdown runs of 43 and 19 yards and threw for three more scores - including a 75-yard bomb - as his Bishop Dwenger (Ind.) team extended their undefeated season with a 42-14 blowout of Jay County in a regional semifinal game. Next up for the 13-0 Saints is a trip to Lowell for the semistate.

Dayne Crist left the game with a concussion after being hit hard and fumbling the ball on a quarterback keeper, andJoseph Fauria caught an 18-yard touchdown pass just one play later, as Fauria’s Crespi (Calif.) team cruised to a 23-3 victory over Crist and Anthony McDonald’s Notre Dame squad.

Braxston Cave and his Penn (Ind.) squad saw their undefeated season and dreams of a state title come to an end with a 21-20 loss to Merrillville in the regional final.

Michael Floyd had a relatively quiet day with four catches for 44 yards, but he did score a touchdown as his Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) team survived a scare and defeated Lakeville North, 26-18, in the class 5A quarterfinals. Up next for Cretin-Derham is 13-1 Brainerd.

Omar Hunter’s Buford (Ga.) defense (recently profiled here) pitched their third straight shutout, ending their regular season at 10-0 with a 21-0 victory over Lovett. Buford QB Twoey Hosch left the game with an injured foot, and while x-rays revealed no fracture, he remains questionable for next Friday’s game against Washington-Wilkes.

Jamoris Slaughter’s Tucker (Ga.) team finished up a 10-0 regular season in which they allowed more than eight points only once with a 38-8 victory over Cedar Grove. The Tigers will face Clarke Central in their first-round playoff game.

Robert Blanton’s Butler (N.C.) team moved to 10-2 with a 49-6 spanking of Lumberton in the first round of the playoffs. Next up for the Bulldogs is archrival Charlotte Independence, whom they upset in dramatic fashion the week before.

Steve Filer’s Mt. Carmel (Ill.) team moved to 12-0 with a 21-14 victory over Maine South in a class 8A quarterfinal game. Up next for the Caravan is 8-4 Glenbard North.

Brandon Newman’s Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) team nearly upset 10-1 Manual, but they were stopped on a two-point conversion attempt in overtime and lost, 21-20, in the first round of the class 6A playoffs. PRP finishes the year at 4-7.

Ethan Johnson’s Lincoln (Ore.) team cruised to a 55-28 playoff victory over Roseburg that was propelled by a 42-point explosion in the second half. The Cardinals are now 5-5, and will meet David Douglas in their second-round game.

Lane Clelland’s McDonogh (Md.) team finished their regular season with a 21-14 loss to Gilman that dropped their record to 6-4.

Here’s the Roundup’s weekly summary of how Notre Dame’s current group of committed players for the 2008 class, which now stands at 21 total, fared in their high school football games this past weekend:

Let’s start once again with this week’s newest commitment: Jonas Gray had 223 yards and three touchdowns - including runs of 49 and 95 yards - on 21 carries as his Detroit County Day (Mich.) team improved to 8-2 with a 28-20 victory over Douglass in their opening-round playoff game.

Dayne Crist was slowed down for much of the game, but he finished 14-of-25 passing for 229 yards and a touchdown, and also scored on a 12-yard run, as his and Anthony McDonald’s Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (Calif.) team scored 19 second-half points en route to a 26-9 home victory over Loyola. The win moved their season record to 7-1.

David Posluszny’s Hopewell (Penn.) team lost at home to Montour, 26-7, to fall to 4-5 on the season. They’re not going to be in the playoffs this year, and I think this is the end of the regular season for them.

And finally, Michael Floyd had seven carries for 100 yards and a touchdown and four catches for 128 yards and another score as his Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) team moved to 10-0 on the season with a 52-9 victory over Park in the second round of the playoffs.

Here’s the Roundup’s weekly rundown of how Notre Dame’s committed players fared in their high school football games this weekend:

First things first: Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) wide receiver Michael Floyd, who committed to the Irish after his official visit this past weekend, scored three touchdowns within a brief span in the second quarter: an 11-yard run with 7:51 on the clock, a 68-yard reception at 6:02, and a 54-yard punt return less than two minutes later. He had 235 all-purpose yards on the day before leaving with five minutes to go in the third quarter with an apparently unserious ankle injury, and his team defeated Mounds View by a score of 42-7, to move their season record to 8-0 and clinch their conference championship. (As domer.mq points out, the lead into this article is priceless: “Every time Cretin-Derham Hall’s Michael Floyd has the football, a collective gasp typically follows.”)

David Posluszny, back in the lineup after missing several games with a concussion, caught a 22-yard touchdown pass as his Hopewell (Pa.) team snapped a three-game losing streak and kept their Parkway Conference title hopes alive with a 47-7 victory over Moon. Hopewell is now 4-4 on the season.

Kyle Rudolph had five catches for 120 yards and three touchdowns as his Elder (Ohio) team defeated Benedictine, 49-34. Elder’s record on the year is 6-3.

Dan McCarthy had an interception and a pass break-up as his Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) team moved their season record to a perfect 9-0 and clinched their conference title with a 37-14 victory over Ursuline (photos here).

Here’s your weekly rundown of how ND’s currently committed players fared in their high school football games this past weekend:

Dayne Crist and Anthony McDonald’s Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (Calif.) team moved to 5-1 on the season with an easy 33-6 victory over St. Francis of La Canada. Crist was 17 of 27 passing for 248 yards and four touchdowns.

Dan McCarthy ran 20 times for 128 yards (or perhaps 18 for 122) and a touchdown and completed five of ten passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns as he led his Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) team to three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and they defeated St. Vincent-St. Mary 21-17, to run their season record to 8-0 and preserve their top-ten national ranking. McCarthy hit tight end Mike Gemma from 23 yards out for the go-ahead score with 2:43 left on the clock.